Review: His Possession

His Possession by Anna Bloom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I positively adore Anna Bloom’s work. Since picking up The Truth About Love, Volume I, I’ve wanted to read more of her work. Whenever I see a new book is coming out, I find myself extremely excited. Such was the case with the Obsession series.

I jumped straight into His Obsession, the short story that provides us with a back story, and I loved it. I could not wait to find out more about the series. There was such promise from the short tale, so many things I was excited to find out more about, meaning I was more than happy to devour His Possession as soon as I managed to get my hands on it.

Picking up from the details we were given at the end of His Obsession, His Possession throws us straight into the story of Sophia and Blake. Five years have passed, things have changed, yet the chemistry between them is even more electric. With both keeping secrets and plenty of drama surrounding every action, it is no surprise I was addicted to this story. Every chapter left me wanting more, each page pulling me deeper into the story.

I will be honesty by saying the story wasn’t quite what I had been expecting. However, I was more than happy to dive into the story we were given. There was so much chemistry between the two, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the events. My favourite parts happen towards the end, though, where things reach the explosive level I had been hoping for from the start. I’m not going to say what happened – but I’m super eager to grab Her Confession to see how everything comes together following the events of this story.

Without a doubt, His Possession was another winner from Anna Bloom. It was another great story, with many different elements involved, and I’m sure many will find themselves addicted.

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Blog Tour: His Possession.

Book: His Possession

Author: Anna Bloom

Genre: Contemporary Romance 

Release Date: 28th November

Synopsis

She was Hollywood’s golden child.

But ever since Sophia Jennings' best friend left her without so much as an explanation, life has spiralled out of control. With her career in tatters and having barely survived ninety days of sobriety, the last thing Sophia wants is to have old wounds ripped open.

He was her protector.

But ever since he walked away, Blake Henderson has lived an empty existence. It only takes one glance at Sophia for five years distance to melt away. Only she’s not the same girl anymore and he quickly realises his return to Hollywood was his biggest mistake yet.

With a new threat looming, and Sophie lost in an existence she never wanted to live, can Blake save the vivacious young woman who once had the world at her feet? Or will the two of them lead each other on a dark path of self-destruction as they discover just how far obsession goes and what the true cost of possession is?

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His Obsession (prequel)

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Meet the Author

A book hoarder and coffee addict by heart Anna Bloom loves to write extraordinary stories about real love. Based south of London with her husband, three children and a dog with a beard, Anna likes to connect with readers, fan girl over her favourite authors and binge watch Supernatural while drinking lots of wine.

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Promotional Post: Chasing Christmas Eve.

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Chasing Christmas Eve

Heartbreaker Bay – Book 4

Jill Shalvis

Avon Books

Meet cute...

Run for the hills—temporarily. That’s Colbie Albright’s plan when she flees New York for San Francisco. Wrangling her crazy family by day and writing a bestselling YA fantasy series by night has taken its toll. In short, Colbie’s so over it that she’s under it. She’s also under the waters of a historic San Francisco fountain within an hour of arrival. Fortunately, the guy who fishes Colbie out has her looking forward to Christmas among strangers. But she’s pretty sure Spencer Baldwin won’t be a stranger for long.

Make merry...

Spence’s commitment to hiding from the Ghosts of Relationships Past means he doesn’t have to worry about the powerful—okay, crazy hot—chemistry he’s got with Colbie. Just because she can laugh at anything, especially herself... just because she’s gorgeous and a great listener…just because she “gets” Spence immediately doesn’t mean he won’t be able to let Colbie go. Does it?

…and hope for a miracle.

Now the clock’s ticking for Colbie and Spence: Two weeks to cut loose. Two weeks to fall hard. Two weeks to figure out how to make this Christmas last a lifetime.

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WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | GOODREADS

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Shalvis writes warm, funny, sexy contemporary romances and women’s fiction. An Amazon, BN & iBooks bestseller, she’s also a two-time RITA winner and has more than 10 million copies of her books sold worldwide.

Review: His Obsession

His Obsession by Anna Bloom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was introduced to Anna Bloom through her The Truth About Love series, short stories that quickly won me over. I then went on to read The Game, which completely blew my mind. Not long after, I picked up her Gravity series, which was something different but still enjoyable. Other Anna Bloom books are sitting on my Kindle waiting to be read, but I found myself far too excited about the Obsession series and jumped straight into His Obsession.

His Obsession is an extremely short read, one you can complete in under an hour, and it gives you a wonderful introduction to the Obsession series. It is only a short story, but it gives you a lot about the series. It introduces you to the characters, it gives us the historical drama, and it sets us up for the next book in the series.

I really did enjoy this one so much. I’m not usually a fan of these little prequel stories, but this one left me so excited. I find prequel stories sometimes feel a bit unnecessary, but such is not the case with this one. His Obsession gives us the perfect amount of detail to pull us in, letting us know of the big event in the characters’ past. Sometimes these kinds of events are referred to in the main story and never really explained, so I’m glad we were given a short story that shares all the details.

Honestly, His Obsession has left me so excited for His Possession. I cannot wait to see what the story brings, and I’ll be diving straight into it. If His Obsession is any indication of what I can expect from His Possession, I’ll be left wanting to dive straight into Her Confession.

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Review: The Unreal Boyfriend

The Unreal Boyfriend by Miranda P. Charles
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Unreal Boyfriend is the ninth book in the Captured by Love series, although it is my first Miranda P. Charles read. The story works wonderfully as a standalone novel, although I do now wish to go and read the rest of the series.

The Unreal Boyfriend is a pretty quick story to read, one that will pull you in within pages and will leave you turning pages through your desire to find out what happens next. At first it seems like your standard story of infatuation, but once the story gets moving there are multiple layers to the story, creating something more than your typical tale of two friends realising what they feel towards each other is love.

The main storyline is the love storyline, an element that will pull you in quickly. It has all you could expect – great characters, chemistry, and plenty of drama. Running parallel to this storyline is something edging towards romantic suspense. I read a lot of romantic suspense and would not label this book as a romantic suspense novel, but it has the intrigue thrown in that edges a story towards such a label.

Both the romantic storyline and the outside drama were thoroughly entertaining, pulling me in and leaving me addicted. I adored the characters we got to know in this book – both the main and the side characters, and I cannot wait to dive into the other Captured by Love books to find out more about them.

In all honesty, the biggest issue I had with the book was related to how I jumped into this series at book nine. Whilst it works perfectly fine as a standalone novel, I found it hard to put the names of the side characters together – I couldn’t keep it straight in my mind who the couples were and whose children was whose. In the grand scheme of things, however, this isn’t much of a problem at all.

Without a doubt, I’m excited to read more Miranda P. Charles books. I have already downloaded the boxset containing the first three Captured by Love books – The Unwilling Executive, The Unyielding Bachelor, and The Undercover Playboy – which I plan to dive into soon. I’m also super curious about the spinoff series mentioned containing a character I came to enjoy in this story. As I said, there is no doubt I’ll be reading more of this author in the future.

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Review: Inseparable

Inseparable by Siobhan Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Siobhan Davis quickly won me over with her Saven series, and since then I’ve always been excited to pick up more of her work. She is one of the few authors I’m willing to step outside of my comfort zone with. When she moved from writings young adult science fiction to new adult contemporary, I was worried. Fortunately, I had no reason to fear. Thus, I told myself I was more than happy to embark upon a journey of her first standalone novel. I know some will argue the later Kennedy Boys novels are standalones, but I believe they work best if you’ve worked your way through all the books in the series – thus, Inseparable, being one hundred percent a standalone novel, is what I consider her first true standalone novel. You do not need to have read any of her other work to enjoy this one.

As I said, Siobhan Davis is an author whose development I’m more than happy to follow, even when things step outside of what I tend to enjoy. I’m not the biggest lover of short stories and novellas, but I find myself excited by news of those kinds of stories when Siobhan Davis promises us such a read. I’ve not been the biggest lover of some of her characters, and yet she’s won me over through telling their individual stories (Saving Brad being a prime example of such a change). I’m not the biggest lover of high school drama in stories, but I enjoyed such elements more than I expected when they appeared in the early Kennedy Boy books. Thus, even though there were certain things I knew about Inseparable that did not appeal to me, I was willing to take the dive.

You see, love triangles… I’m not a fan. Not at all. A part of me threatens to shrivel up and die at the prospect. They appear so often in romance, and I really don’t understand why. The ratio of love triangles in novels is so much higher than what I believe it to be in real life. I admit to being slightly jaded – being the unattractive person I am, I cannot grab the attention of a single male let alone two (but such is a self-pitying tangent nobody wishes to hear more about) – but I prefer straightforward romance. I love some good drama, but I often find I enjoy regular drama (or the crazy exaggerated kind) over drama related to multiple love interests. I’ll accept it more in paranormal romance (where reverse harem appears quite often) than contemporary, but I’m not big on such tales. Yet, this was the first standalone novel by Siobhan Davis and I needed to know more, I needed to read it.

The prologue of this one instantly grabbed my attention. It demonstrates how wonderful Siobhan is as a writer. The writing was beautiful, the information enough to leave me wanting more, and I was instantly pulled into the story. Without a doubt, it was one of my favourite introductions to a book in a long time. It was such a beautifully written piece, making it impossible to drag me away from the book.

Then the book is split into three parts. In part one we face one of the things I’m not overly crazy about, having already mentioned it – the high school drama. It was interesting, it was a great set up for the story, but I wasn’t crazy about it. I accepted it in the Kyler arc of the Kennedy Boys because there was a lot of other stuff going on, yet I feel as though it was even stronger in this one. Those who love high school drama will really enjoy part one of this story, but it wasn’t quite for me. Therefore, whilst I was intrigued, I wasn’t won over. Such a thing really saddened me. As I’ve said, I’m a big fan of Siobhan’s work. I wanted to love this one, and part one left me with the fear I would not be enjoying this book as much as I would have liked. It would be a nice solid three-star rating, but it would not be the high I have experienced with her other books.

Along came part two. This is where my feelings towards the story started to change. It moved from being a story I was interested in but not really loving, to being a book I was addicted to. Things started to build up a lot more in the second part of the story, and by the end of it my view had changed from it being a three-star rating to a three-point-five or possibly four-star rating. The latter half of this part of the book really won me over. I was lost to the story, needing more. I could not wait to dive into part three to see how everything came together.

Fortunately, I was happy to devour this book in a single sitting. I dove straight into part three to see how all the elements came together. Without a doubt, the third part of the book was my favourite. Everything came together so well. There were big reveals for all the characters, and even though I had worked every one of them out, I loved the way in which they came out and played together. The third part of the book was so emotionally charged, completely winning me over. Thus, the book became a solid four-star rating. I may have tentative at first, I may have been worried in the early parts of the book, but it won me over in the end. I honestly feared we had reached a literary device Siobhan Davis would not be able to win me over with, and yet she managed it.

I know for a fact that many people will enjoy this book even more than I did. My prejudice against love triangles is to blame for the initial difficulty I had with this story. In fact, I fear my dislike of love triangles clouded my view more than it should have – to the point where I was making parallels with other Siobhan Davis books and thinking it was too close to what has been written before, even though this book stands strong on its own. It is due to this that I did not fall in love with the characters in the way I usually do in a Siobhan Davis read, but I know many people will fangirl like crazy over this one. In fact, I have a feeling there will be many broken hearts and damp eyes by the time some people finish this story.

Because, honestly, this book does deal with many heavy topics. I could list them all, but to do such would be to give spoilers. Just know this book deals with a lot of sensitive issues and I challenge any person not to be affected by something in this story. It is hard hitting, the different aspects will speak to many people, and you’ll soon be lost in the story. As always, Siobhan Davis has done a wonderful job of bringing to light real-life issue and making them known – giving them the respect they deserve, making people stop and think, and leaving us with a heavy heart at the end.

I’m positive many people will go on to call this book their favourite Siobhan Davis read, and I can easily see why people will feel such a way. This is gripping read, one that takes you on an emotional journey. However, sadly, I cannot label this my favourite Siobhan Davis read. I feel as though I’m going to be in the minority with this view, I just do not want people to mistake my statement for a dislike of this book. I did enjoy the story, I’m so glad I read it, as can be seen by my four-star rating, it simply is not my favourite Siobhan Davis read.

There’s no doubt, however, that I will continue to read Siobhan Davis. She won me over in the end when I did not think I would be, proving how wonderful she is as a writer. If you have yet to pick up a Siobhan Davis book, then picking up Inseparable is something you should do. As her first real standalone novel, it stands up so well – making it the perfect introduction to anyone new to her work and serving as a reminder of all she is capable of to her fans.

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Review: Operation: Christmas Seduction

Operation: Christmas Seduction by Megan Ryder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My introduction to Megan Ryder came through The Game Changer, the third book in the Knights of Passion series. It was a wonderful read, leaving me more than willing to pick up more of the author’s work. Thus, I went ahead and picked up Going All the Way – the first book in the series. Again, it was a wonderful read. I plan to read the second Knights of Passion book, Love from Left Field, soon – I really need to be up to date with all the books in the series. In addition to the Knights of Passion series, I’ve also read the Lone Star Match books. All three books were fabulous reads, pretty much ensuring I would pick up any Megan Ryder book. Then, along came Operation: Christmas Seduction.

In all honesty, I find Christmas stories can be a bit hit or miss. I’m not the biggest Christmas fan, but given the right story, I can be convinced the festive season isn’t all bad. Fortunately, Operation: Christmas Seduction is one such book – it’s a winner of the genre. Short and sweet, it’s an adorable little Christmas read. It is more than capable of getting a person into the Christmas spirit, leaving them smiling throughout.

Our story begins as quite a few holiday romance stories do – with two very different views on Christmas. Our male lead loves it whereas our female lead is more than happy to overlook the holiday season. It’s not a full-blown Grinch situation, but it’s enough to grab the attention of a male interested in being more than just a friend. Thus, an adorable story ensues.

Across the short story, we fall deeply in love with our leading characters. The events that play out between them are adorable, the chemistry between them wonderful, and the overall story highly addictive. With drama, emotion, and moments that will leave you grinning like a fool, this is exactly the type of Christmas romance you should be picking up. Without a doubt, it’s a wonderful little story – one I really enjoyed.

My only wish is that it had been a longer story – I enjoyed it so much and wish we could have witnessed even more of the wonderful interactions, the wonderful scenes, the wonderful characters, and all the other goodness we were given throughout.

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Review: To Prevent Clear Paths

To Prevent Clear Paths by Emily Martha Sorensen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

To Prevent Clear Paths is the third book in Emily Martha Sorensen’s Magical Mayhem series. As with To Prevent World Peace and To Prevent Chic Costumes, it is an extremely short read, one that can be completed in under an hour, but it will leave you intrigued about what is going to happen in the rest of the series.

In my review of the two prior stories, I mentioned how this series has a rather anime feel about it, much like the magical girl anime. The vibe is still very much alive in this third instalment. To Prevent World Peace was the introduction episode, the one that gave us the basics we needed to know whether or not we’d be watching more. To Prevent Chic Costumes was the second episode that really brought us into the story, the one that left us intrigued to see what came next. To Prevent Clear Paths is the third episode that starts to add more, the one that gives us a little bit by way of information whilst creating yet more questions.

As with the prior stories, this was short and sweet, straight to the point with just four chapters moving the story forward. We were given an insight into elements introduced to us in the prior story, along with a promise of more enjoyable events in the future, mixed together to leave us intrigued to see how things play out. Despite the promise of there being more in the future, things are left rather open – leaving us curious about what the next story will bring.

Overall, an enjoyable addition to the Magical Mayhem series.

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Review: Dark Swan

Dark Swan by Gena Showalter
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

There was a point where the only romance stories I would read were of the paranormal variety. Things have changed over time, and I’m much more willing to pick up romance stories of all kinds, but paranormal remains my favourite. Despite it being my favourite, I’ve read surprisingly few of the big names in the genre. Gena Showalter is one such big writer in the genre I have failed to pick up.

Whilst the Lords of the Underworld series does seem interesting, I’m not crazy about picking it up. There is potential, but it does not scream out to me in the way some series do. Of Gena Showalter’s series, it’s the Lord of the Underworld series that interests me the most. Thus, you can see why I have not picked up a Gena Showalter book before.

However, I was finally given my introduction to Gena Showalter through Blood Red Kiss. I brought it to read Kresley Cole’s The Warlord Wants forever, yet I was happy to give the Larissa Ione and Gena Showalter stories a read as well. Unfortunately, of the three, the Gena Showalter story was my least favourite.

It’s possible I would have enjoyed this one more had I read the two prior Otherworld Assassin books, but I’m not sure. A part of me believes if I were to go and read the Otherworld Assassin books I would not enjoy them much, and I would blame it on how I have not read the Alien Huntress series of which it is a spinoff. I believe this is one of those situations where my desire to like something will have me creating excuses of why I didn’t like it. Sadly, the reality of the situation is that very little of this one appealed to me. Moreover, I’m not interested in finding out more.

Throughout the entire book, I failed to connect with any of the characters. I wasn’t at all interested in the details of their lives, nor did I feel anything towards them. Anything could have happened and I wouldn’t have been at all bothered – there was nothing to make me care about them, nothing that interested me. I know followers of the series enjoyed this story because of the male lead being of interest from the prior books, but I didn’t care for him at all. There was nothing about him that I found interesting – and I didn’t feel anything for our female lead either.

The story failed to entertain me, too. I kept expecting something big to happen, for there to be a moment where I felt something, but it went along without me caring. I kept reading – forcing myself at times – hoping something would occur, but nothing ever did. There was no plot twist, no real moment where things made me feel, and it was all rather expected and cliched.

There was the potential for things to be interesting, a part of me was curious about the world building, but the way in which the story was told left me feeling nothing at all. Part of me blames this on my lack of knowledge caused by not having read the prior stories, but a much larger part of me believes it was Gena Showalter’s storytelling – whilst it wasn’t bad, it simply wasn’t something I enjoyed.

Overall, I’m unlikely to be picking up another Gena Showalter book at any point in the foreseeable future. My sister has read her White Rabbit Chronicles and really enjoyed it, which means she has been asking me to read it for quite some time, so there’s the possibility of me one day picking up something else Gena Showalter wrote, but it is unlikely to be soon.

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Review: Silent Knight

Silent Knight by Becky McGraw
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Silent Knight is the seventh book in the Deep Six Security series, but it works perfectly fine as a standalone novel. This is one of those series where characters are reoccurring, yet each story is an individual romance. As my first introduction to the Deep Six Security series, I can honestly say this one has left me excited to read more. In fact, I plan to go and grab Till Death, book one, soon – actually, I may even go and grab SEALed Fate, the point-five book, first.

Silent Knight is one of those stories that sucked me in within pages. One moment I was a couple of pages in, and the next I had powered my way through to the final chapters. It was a book where I needed to know what had happened, and I need to know straight away. Being a short read, it meant I was able to work through the story at a rapid pace, providing me with an enjoyable story I was able to read in a single sitting.

I love a good romantic suspense, and this book certainly provides what you expect from the genre. We’re given two wonderful characters. We’re given a sticky situation. We’re given chemistry. We’re given a great cast. We’re given action scenes. We’re given drama. In other words, despite being a short story, this one provides plenty. There is something on every page, something to keep you entertained from the start until the end.

One of the big reasons why I’m so excited to dive into the rest of the series is the characters. I adored our main characters, but the side characters were also amazing. The close-knit relationship, almost family-like feel, between the characters was wonderful – and whilst we did not dive overly deep into any of the side characters storylines, I found out enough about each of them to be intrigued by what their stories would provide.

For those who have yet to read the Deep Six Security series, this is a great introduction. For those who have read the prior books, I’m positive this makes for a brilliant festive time read.

Without a doubt, I’ll be reading more Becky McGraw in the future.

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Review: Everett

Everett by Casey Peeler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Earlier this year I read Casey Peeler’s Boondocks. I enjoyed the book, although I would not label it a favourite, and was interested in reading more of the author’s work. When I saw the Drake Brothers series, I thought it was time to give her another try.

I’ll be completely honest, I have a love-hate relationship with short stories. The line between the two is very thin. Whilst I did find Everett to be an enjoyable enough read, I did not love it. It was fun to pass a short period of time – being a story you can complete in well under an hour – but it isn’t something I’ll be going out of my way to read again. I’ll certainly be reading Jeremiah – probably Colby and Beckett, too – but I doubt this will be one of those series I’ll be crazy excited about, just something I’ll be willing to read to pass a bit of time.

My issue with a lot of short stories is that I really enjoy seeing all of the small details. I like watching as things develop, as everything plays out. In short stories, we’re given things at a rapid-fire pace. With Everett, I feel as though this kind of storytelling means a lot of the potential was lost. Both our main characters had an interesting background we could have dove deeper into, and the chemistry between the two of them could have been expanded through showing us more of their interactions. I believe this could have been a lot more enjoyable if we’d been able to see all the little things that played out.

As I said, I’m interested in continuing the Drake Brothers series, but I doubt I’ll be doing so in a timely fashion.

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Review: Christmastide with my Captain

Christmastide with my Captain by Tammy Andresen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m a big fan of Tammy Andresen’s Taming the Heart series, and was more than willing to dive into more of her work. Christmastide with my Captain is a wonderful short story, working as a prequel to the A Laird To Love series. It’s just a handful of pages long, meaning you can complete it in no time at all, and is the perfect read for historical fiction fans looking for a Christmas read.

Filling with wonderful characters and a great little plot, this story is a perfect read for anyone wanting something quick to fill in their day. In no time at all you fall in love with the characters, and even though you know there is a happily ever after just a couple of pages away the story pulls you in and leaves you wanting more.

Although I would not label this my favourite Tammy Andresen read, I did enjoy it a lot. I’m not usually the biggest lover of short stories, but this one was a lot of fun. In fact, it’s left me super eager for the full-length novels in the A Laird To Love series. The characters all seem like a lot of fun, and this small introduction has left me extremely excited to see how all of the stories play out.

Without a doubt, Christmastide with my Captain has left me more than willing to dive into the A Laird To Love series when it starts. In fact, I plan to dive into book one – My Enemy, My Earl – extremely soon!

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Review: Forsaken by Night

Forsaken by Night by Larissa Ione
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I positively adore Larissa Ione’s Demonica series. I read the first five books – those from the main Demonica arc before segueing into the Lords of Deliverance series – back to back, and I cannot wait to continue on. In addition to wanting to read the rest of the Demonica series, I was super interested in reading some of Larissa Ione’s other novels. One such series to interest me was the MoonBound Clan Vampires series.

On Larissa Ione’s website, she mentions how there is to be a big delay between Chained by Night and the next MoonBound Clan Vampires book as she is planning to release the next three back to back. I’m all for books being released in rapid succession, but as I’m not a fan of long waits, I decided to delay reading this series until closer to the time of release.

However, when I picked up Blood Red Kiss to read Kresley Cole’s The Warlord Wants Forever, I found myself treated to Forsaken by Night. I told myself not to read this novella, to leave this two-point-five book alone until I was able to read it in order… yet Larissa Ione. I needed more, and I found myself diving in.

Although I have not read Bound by Night or Chained by Night, I found Forsaken by Night really easy to follow. I could see where I would have enjoyed the experience more through having read the prior two books – the relationship between Nicole and Riker and the relationship between Aylin and Hunter would be explained, along with certain referenced events and the abilities of the supernatural creatures – but this also works well as a standalone novel. In fact, I enjoyed it so much a part of me is tempted to grab Bound by Night and start the series even though there is quite a wait for the next book.

As with my other Larissa Ione reads, I found this to be thoroughly addictive. I was quickly pulled into the world, the storyline, and the characters, wanting more with every page. Although it was just a small insight into the series, I gained so much from this one. Our main characters were positively wonderful, yet I also found myself enjoying the side characters. The storyline was intriguing, and the underlying story arc relate to the main series has left me curious. The world was a lot of fun, and I’m excited to see how it all comes together in a full-length novel. If the main books in the series contain what this book did – action, amazing characters, a great romance, and wonderful steamy scenes – then I’m sure I’m going to love the MoonBound Clan Vampires series.

Without a doubt, I’m looking forward to diving into the MoonBound Clan Vampires series in the future.

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Review: The Warlord Wants Forever

The Warlord Wants Forever by Kresley Cole
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Immortals After Dark series is one of those paranormal romance series that have interested me for quite some time. The books kept popping up, leaving me curious as to what I could expect. Although I did wish to cure my curiosity, I found myself delaying because of how difficult it was to get my hands on the first book. With The Warlord Wants Forever being a novella, it was hard to find a physical copy of the book. Thus, my reading was put off until I managed to get my hands on Blood Red Kiss. Blood Red Kiss allowed me to read the first book in the Immortals After Dark series whilst also giving me a couple of short stories for other series – mainly, though, it was brought for The Warlord Wants Forever.

In all honesty, I expected more from this considering the high ratings this series has. I went in expecting another paranormal romance series addiction, and left feeling rather disappointed. It was an interesting enough story, but I had expected so much more. I believe many of the issues I had with this story come from it being a novella. My fingers are crossed that the next book will be better, as I’m hoping the only reason certain things felt missing is because of the length and such will hopefully be amended in a full-length novel.

As an introduction to the Immortals After Dark world, The Warlord Wants Forever was a decent enough read. We were given enough basics about the supernatural world to develop a simple understanding, although there is still plenty left open that I’m hoping will be developed upon in the future books. We’re given an introduction to the supernatural creatures, some of the characters, and some plot lines – all things I’m sure will be developed even more in the future books. It’s enough to leave you interested to see what comes next, although there isn’t anything overly critical in this one.

In terms of the individual paranormal romance element of this story… I wasn’t as crazy as I had hoped to be. Things were over much too quickly and I never really felt the connection to the characters that I had hoped for. I believe this story would have been even more engaging had it been longer, had we been able to dive even deeper into the characters, yet as it was things came together much too quickly for my liking. There was potential there, but it didn’t quite live up to it – I went from not caring about the characters, to caring just as it was over, without all the complex emotions that should come between.

Overall, The Warlord Wants Forever was a decent introduction to the Immortals After Dark series, but I’m hoping A Hunger Like No Other will be more to my liking.

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Review: Cinder

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cinder is one of those books to have interested me for a very long time, and yet it remained sitting on my to-read list. I was curious about reading it, yet a few of the negative things I’d heard had me delaying the read. In the end, even if I am extremely late to the bandwagon, my curiosity got the better of me.

In all honesty, I’m annoyed for waiting so long to read this.

Although Cinder is not a perfect book, it is one of those books that leaves you wanting more. In the best way possible, of course. You want more of the story, more of the characters, and more of all the little things you have come to love throughout the book – in other words, you’re excited to dive into book two.

When I started reading this I was unsure as to how invested in the story I would become, yet I soon found myself addicted. I was turning page after page to see what happened next, curious for more, and soaking in all the little details we were given. I’ll be completely honest and say the main detail revealed in this book was overly obvious from the start – painstakingly obvious, if I’m brutally honest – and it did annoy me at times how clear it was yet nobody, least of all our main character, was willing to make the connection. However, I was able to look beyond this because it is a trope in young adult novels that often comes to play a larger role. With how high my expectations are for the rest of the series, I’m hoping the same will be true here.

The one thing I do feel I should mention is my belief of the Cinderella element being unnecessary. I know this book was created as a futuristic Cinderella retelling, and yet I feel as though the story would have worked just as well had it not focused so much upon the Cinderella elements. In fact, I feel as though those were the weakest areas of the story. The world building was interesting, and there is plenty of room for development. The characters were a lot of fun, and I cannot wait for more. The storyline was gripping, and I’m excited to see how certain elements come together. However, when I focus upon these points in relation to the Cinderella elements I feel as though they’re much weaker. There world building around the Cinderella scenes felt weaker, the characters aimed to be the bad guys from the Cinderella storyline felt like flat caricatures, and the scenes that mirrored the original Cinderella story felt a bit forced. I loved the story, but I could have done without the clear mirroring of a classic fairy-tale. As much as I enjoy fairy-tale retellings, I feel as though some stories are taking things too far – and, in this case, I believe the story could have been even stronger had it not tried so hard to be a futuristic Cinderella.

Overall, though, I had so much fun with this. When I started the story, I wasn’t sure how pulled into it I would become. I was a bit tentative, in truth. I feared I would be one of the few to dislike it, that I would not be joining the hype. However, as the story started to unfold I found myself intrigued by the possibilities of where this story will go. I fell in love with our main characters, and I’m excited to see more of them in the future books – books I cannot wait to pick up.

Honestly, I had so much fun with this one. It was such an addictive read and I cannot wait to dive into book two. The saddest part, of me, is that I’ll be waiting a month to dive into book two – whilst I do own Scarlet, I do not have it in my house. I have the book at my parents’ house, hundreds of miles away, and I will not be able to get hold of it until I go and visit. I guess it’s a good job Christmas is only a little over a month away – as soon as I go for my visit, I’ll be diving into Scarlet.

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Review: Rock Solid

Rock Solid by Carly Phillips
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The synopsis of Rock Solid instantly grabbed me (plus the cover is pretty damn fine), and I knew without a doubt I needed to read it. Despite being book four in the Book Boyfriend series, I knew it worked as a standalone. Having now finished and loved Rock Solid, I really need to go and grab the other three books in the series. In Rock Solid we got a tiny glimpse into the lives of Wes, Max, and Kyle, and I really want to know more about them. They seem like such fun, and if this book is anything to go off I’m sure to love their stories.

The first two chapters of the story take us back almost four years, giving us an insight into the one-night stand that occurred between Connor and Katie. In chapter three, we move to present time – the point in the story where Connor finds out he is a father. Thus, the story of Connor trying to win over Katie begins.

It’s a simple enough story, but there is plenty of emotion behind it. The relationship between Connor and his daughter is beautiful. The way in which Connor tries to show Katie she is worth more than she realises is amazing. The entire storyline grips hard and does not let you go. It’s a relatively short read, and once you start reading you will not be able to put it down – it sucks you in, and you need to finish it in a single sitting to see how everything comes together.

With wonderful characters and a gripping storyline, this one is a sure winner. I’m sure fans of the series, those to have been following since book one, will be overjoyed by Connor’s story – and those who are new to the series, like me, will be won over enough to want to give the prior books a read.

I can gladly confirm the title of this series – Book Boyfriend – does not lie. Connor is certainly a book boyfriend I’d be glad to make my own.

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Review: Kiss Me Cowboy

Kiss Me Cowboy by Heather Slade
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

If I’m being completely honest, Kiss Me Cowboy was more of a two-point-five star read for me. I know many people seemed to enjoy this one, but I had quite a bit of trouble with it. I believe, however, that a lot of my trouble is due to this being book three in the Cowboys of Crested Butte series. I have not read the prior books in the series and there was so much drama going on in this book that I did not understand, thus I had difficulty getting into certain elements of the storyline. This is my own fault, and due to that, I opted to round up to three stars.

I find most romance series, where there is a different couple in each book, allow you to read each book as a standalone novel. It’s usually best to read them in order for the full effect, but you can usually wrap your head around everything without needing to read all of the prior books. It was this belief that had me diving into Kiss Me Cowboy without reading the prior books. I knew this to be a romance between two characters, a romance that did not appear in the prior books. Thus, I assumed it would be okay to jump in without having read the prior books. However, I quickly found out this is one of those books where it is best to read the entire series.

There was a lot of stopping and starting as I tried to get into this story, constant picking it up and putting it down. There was a lot going on in this one, and not all of it was related to the two main characters. I do not mind reading snippets of other characters – in fact, I enjoy such a thing when I’ve been following a series for a long time – yet I feel as though things were somewhat unequal at certain points in this book. There were plenty of times where I did not feel as though I was reading a romance novel, where I did not feel as though this book was focused upon the relationship forming between two people. I felt like I was reading a soap opera, bouncing around the drama between the characters. Whilst I do love a good drama filled book, I felt as though this was just a bit too much for me. I may have enjoyed it more if I had understood everything, but even then I’m unsure – I like to think my capability of dealing with drama is quite high, yet I fear this would have pushed it to a limit.

Aside from the amount of drama in the book, I found it difficult to connect with any of the characters and the events that played out. The story itself had the possibility of being really interesting – once I was about half way through, I found I was enjoying some of the elements more than I’d imagined possible when I started the book – but I did not connect with anyone or anything. I kept reading, wanting to know how things played out (wanting to make sure I had worked things out correctly), but I never felt the emotions I should have felt when reading a book where so much happened. If I’d been able to connect with the characters I’m sure I would have enjoyed this more, instead I spent the whole book feeling like an outsider looking in – as I said, it felt like a soap opera where I could appreciate the events but I never really felt anything.

I may go and give the prior books – Fall for Me and Dance with me – a read, to see if I enjoy them more. Whilst a part of me is willing to give them a try – at least the first one – it’s not a task at the top of my to-do list. I may get around to it, I may not – it remains to be seen.

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Review: Broken

Broken by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Broken is the sixth book in Kelley Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series, and it is yet another example of why Kelley Armstrong managed to work her way onto my favourite author list in no time at all. As with all her books I have read, this one kept me gripped throughout – I loved the characters, I enjoyed the storyline, and I cannot wait for more.

In Bitten, the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series, we were introduced to Elena. I quickly fell in love with the werewolves, having so much fun with the characters and the storyline surrounding them. In Stolen, we got more Elena – we also got an introduction to the rest of the world, taking us beyond the werewolves and introducing us to the other supernatural creatures. In Dime Store Magic I was disappointed by the change of perspective, fearful I would not enjoy Paige – only to be surprised when I enjoyed her more than Elena. I was overjoyed when Industrial Magic also followed Paige, taking us even deeper into the witch arc. Haunted disappointed me somewhat, though, as I was not a fan of Eve – I’m not sure what it was, but it was my least favourite of the series thus far. I was glad to find out Broken would not be following Eve, and that we would be returning to Elena – I would have preferred a return to Paige (I’m aware it’s an unpopular opinion, but I really do enjoy her character), but Elena was still a better option than Eve.

In all honesty, Broken worked to remind me just how much I enjoyed Elena. It turns out I was selling her short, failing to remember just how much I enjoyed her as a character. Elena is so much fun to follow, and the werewolves make things even more enjoyable. I’d forgotten just how much I enjoyed all of the characters, everyone adding a little something that leaves you loving them. I’m glad we went back to Elena in this one, allowing me to remember how much I like her stories.

The story itself grabbed me from the moment I read the synopsis. I love Jack the Ripper stories, and I knew this one would be something completely different to my norm (especially with how it’s usually crime thrillers I read when picking up a Jack the Ripper book). Whilst I found the mystery element of this story to be predictable from very early on, I did enjoy how it was a different kind of Jack the Ripper story to what I know and what I had expected – I may have been able to work things out, but I was given an interesting tale.

I also feel as though the events in this book have added quite a bit for the rest of the series – at least, I hope so. Elena’s role as a female werewolf surrounded by males of the species has been highlighted endlessly throughout the series, and with this book focusing upon Elena’s pregnancy, I can only imagine what is to come in the future books following on from this new detail. My fingers are crossed for lots of drama.

I’m also really excited for book seven, No Humans Involved, as I came to enjoy Jamie even more in this book. Since she appeared in the series, I’ve been enjoying her character – with her playing a slightly larger role in this book, I found myself excited to see how her story plays out.

Yet again, I cannot wait to grab the next book in the series. I really do need to work on picking them up sooner, rather than going a while between each book – these are very much binge read books, a series you can power through.

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Review: The Draqon's Queen

The Draqon's Queen by Pearl Foxx
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first three books in the Shifters of Kladuu series introduced us to the Vilka. I adored the wolf shifters, and as we moved deeper into the story we slowly found out more about the world. In book three, The Vilka’s Captive, we got a much deeper insight into one particular group – the Draqon. I’m a huge dragon lover, and I was excited to see the dragon shifter side of the story. Having finished The Draqon’s Queen, I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy the Draqon stories more than the Vilka stories.

To really enjoy this book, you need to read the series in order. Things have slowly been building throughout the series, and in book three a lot of new information came to light. A big twist was added to the series. I went in to The Draqon’s Queen expecting to dive straight into the drama added by the prior book, but this book didn’t do quite what I had imagined. This book is a fabulous introduction to the Draqon society, feeling like the first in a series. It was wonderful, giving us an insight into the society and the new characters. I like that we had a bit of a break from the drama that unfolded in the prior book, as it allows us to find out more about the new leads, and there was a bit of action in this one that promises even bigger things for book five.

As with the prior books, we also had a wonderful romance story. At the start of this series, I was excited for a romance between Niva and Gerrit. Gerrit’s story, book two, destroyed that ship for me. I loved what we were given instead, yet I was hopeful for Niva. I never excited her story to play out this way – and yet her romance with Zayd was amazing. I positively adored the relationship between the two of them, and could not have asked for more for a character I came to enjoy in the prior books.

Without a doubt, this was a wonderful addition to the series. I really enjoyed getting to see another part of the Kladuu world and being introduced to new characters.

Also, that ending. Damn, what promise. I am seriously excited to see what comes next. It will be big, I can feel it. There will be a serious explosion, and I’m disappointed I cannot jump straight into it! The sooner I get my hands on book five, the better!

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Review: Deal Breaker

Deal Breaker by Tara Leigh
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although Deal Breaker is the second book in Tara Leigh’s Billionaire Bosses series, it works perfectly fine as a standalone novel. As a standalone novel is how I read this one, although I am now interested in giving Penthouse Player a read. We got a small insight into the lives of Reina and Tristan, the characters from the first book, and I’m super curious to know their story. It was only a few chapters that the characters appeared, but it was enough to leave me intrigued – especially with how much I enjoyed Deal Breaker.

In all honesty, I was a wee bit tentative when I started this one. The beginning of the book had me fearing a cliché. Down on luck female is in a sticky situation, saved by near perfect billionaire. It’s been done before. As much as I enjoy such reads, I always fear I’m close to reaching my limit – fearful nothing new can be added. Fortunately, it took very little to pull me into this story, to show the book was very much worth reading.

Both Nixie and Nash were wonderful characters, and I found myself loving them both so much. They were such entertaining characters, and the chemistry between the two of them was fabulous. Both came with baggage, with drama, and it made for many wonderful scenes. Some things were a bit on the predictable side, having been done before, but there was plenty to make this book unique. Whilst I did enjoy plenty of the events, my love for both of the characters is what won me over the most.

It’s not just our main characters who are a lot of fun, though. The entire cast was great. I feel in love with many of the characters throughout the story – and even those I didn’t come to love, I still had strong feelings towards. Without a doubt, the characters of this story really came to life. There was so much to everyone, and I enjoyed getting to know them all as the story played out in the many wonderful ways.

My only disappointment was with the ending. I was so invested in the story, so much happened, that I felt as though the ending was rather rushed. Things happened too quickly, it felt like a bit of an easy way out. I enjoyed the way some things came together, but I was not as invested in the ending as I had hoped to be. I wanted something a bit more explosive, I wanted my heartstrings to be pulled to the point of no return. Instead, I was given an ending that failed to impact me as much as the earlier part of the book.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed this one. I’ll certainly be reading more Tara Leigh in the future, especially the prior Billionaire Bosses book.

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Review: The Kingdom of Little Wounds

The Kingdom of Little Wounds by Susann Cokal
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

They say you should never judge a book by the cover, and yet the cover is often what pulls my attention towards new authors. Such is the case with The Kingdom of Little Wounds. I saw it sitting on the bookshelf, and thought it looked like a wonderful read. The cover instantly filled my mind with notions of what kind of book it could be, without giving me anything specific. Thus, I flipped it over. The information on the back, however, didn’t fill in all that many blanks. It gave me something, but mostly I was left with little knowledge. There were many possibilities and I was interested to see how it would play out.

I’ll be completely honest and say it took me a while to get into this book. In fact, it was very slow going for the first half of the book. It is a heavy read – both the topic and the storytelling. Although it was the latter I had issues with. I’m no stranger to books dealing with heavy topics, and in many ways this one felt rather light when compared to some books I have read. The storytelling, however, took a while for me to connect with.

We’re given multiple perspectives throughout this book. Two different characters provide us with a first-person perspective, allowing us insight into the minds of two of the characters. Events that occur with other important characters are told through third-person, snippets appearing throughout to give us a bigger picture of what is happening. In addition, there are breaks in the main story where other tales are told. Due to there being so much going on, I found myself unable to connect with any one character for quite some time. I would be enjoying one of the first-person perspectives, and then we would skip somewhere else, and I would be left feeling adrift. Once my mind was accustomed to this, and the story started to come together, I found myself working through the book rather quickly.

Getting to the point in the story where things start to come together will be hard for many people. I went into this story with no prior knowledge, meaning I went in without the knowledge of what kind of fairy-tale this is. You see, this book is a fairy tale about syphilis. That alone should tell you what kind of story you will be dealing with. It is set against a dark historical backdrop, taking us into the gritty world that existed in a time gone by. There are fairy tale creatures thrown in for good measure, but the actions reflect the history of the world – the dark history. This means there is murder, there is rape, there is disease, and many other things people may not wish to read about. I know it took me a while to wrap my head around how dark this story was, especially with how I thought I was going to enter a fairy tale with only a few dark moments.

Those who are able to deal with such topics, however, will be given an intricate story. There was so much more to this one than I expected there to be. There were so many layers throughout, so many different stories going on within this one story. Things are linked together so well, creating a web of the finest silk. Honestly, I was so amazed at the end when I realised how well everything went together. I may not have been engaged throughout the entire story, but I can appreciate how complex the story was and how well put together it was.

I also wish to briefly touch upon a debate I’ve found surrounding this book – the issue of whether or not it should be considered a young adult novel. I find the label of young adult is a rather complex one nowadays. Whether people agree or not, the genre does seem to be split into upper and lower young adult. Those in the upper young adult category have been appearing more and more often, dipping ever closer to the adult genre yet keeping the young adult moniker due to the age of the lead character. In all honesty, whilst dark, I do not think The Kingdom of Little Wounds was as graphic as some of the young adult books out there. I’ve read comments where people are arguing against the sexual content of the novel – and yet it was nowhere near as graphic as some of the most popular young adult fantasy at the moment. In my mind, if Sarah J. Maas is considered young adult with all the sexual content, I have no issue labelling this a young adult book. It is dark, it deals with heavy topics, but I like to think teenagers can read such books. Not all will want to, but books like this should be made available to teens should they wish to read them, rather than them searching through the adult genre where things will be even more graphic. Of course, opinions differ and I know the debate will not end simply because I throw my opinion out there.

Overall, my experience with this one was rather mixed, made up of complex highs and lows. Did I love it? No. Did I hate it? No. Do I regret reading it? No. In time I may look back at this and have a clearer opinion, but for now my feelings as unsettled.

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Review: Torment

Torment by Scarlett Dawn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Torment is the third book in the Origin series, and it is safe to say it is my favourite in the series thus far. I’ve enjoyed all three books, and I’m super excited for the rest of the series, yet Torment gripped me hard from the very first page.

Trigger introduced us to the Origin world, and I found myself really enjoying the characters. Transcend gave us an unexpected twist, leaving us unsure of where things would go next. Torment, gave us both of those things. The couple in Torment are, without a doubt, my favourite thus far, and I have no idea how this series is going to come together – in the best way possible, of course.

The very first page had me falling in love with our female lead in this one, her internal monologue a truly amazing thing to experience. There was such sass, and I was so pleased to see it occurred both inside her mind and when she was speaking to people. It made her an easy to love character, someone you enjoy instantly. When our male lead walked in and played off her so well, I couldn’t help but smile. Without a doubt, the two go together so well. I let out so much laughter at the things that occurred, at the way they played off each other. The relationship between the two played out in a different way to the relationships in the prior books, yet I found the changes to be very fitting for the characters. Honestly, the future books are going to need to work hard to top this couple.

Whilst most of the book did focus upon the relationship – I’ve said in prior reviews that this series focuses more upon the romantic elements than the action of the supernatural world – there was another twist thrown in. Following on from the last book, the event that occurred in this book has left me completely unsure as to how the series is going to play out. I have many ideas, yet I’m clueless as to what will occur. I’m hoping the next couple of books will really start to focus upon that element of the story, as I’m intrigued to see how everything is going to come together.

I’m also really loving the side story that is occurring with Theron and the pizza girl. I’m hoping it will play out the same way the story of Gem and Ky played out in Larissa Ione’s Demonica series – we’ll get to see snippets of their story throughout all of the books, even if they do not get a book of their own, allowing us to see how things develop there.

Overall, I loved this one. As I said, it’s my favourite in the series thus far and I’m super excited to see what Trick brings to the table!

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Review: Chaotic

Chaotic by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m trying to read the Otherworld Stories as they occur in the Women of the Otherworld timeline. Whether or not I’m achieving my goal is hard to say – I’m succeeding and not at the same time. Nevertheless, I am trying. Thus, Chaotic was picked up before I jumped into the sixth book of the series. Although it is book five-point-two, I’m unsure as to how vital reading it before the sixth book is. I know it will be relevant later, though, and that’s enough for me.

I’m going to be honest by saying I wasn’t overly excited by this one. The idea of Karl being the male lead… I simply wasn’t excited by it. My prejudice against his character left me with the belief I would not enjoy this one. Fortunately, I was mistaken. I finished this story with a sudden love for Karl. In fact, I’m super excited for his return later in the series – I need more Karl in my life, a statement I never expected to say.

In Chaotic we’re introduced to Hope, another character we will be meeting later in the Women of the Otherworld series. At first I wasn’t quite sure what I thought of her, but before long I found myself rather enjoying Hope. We get to know a lot about her, yet there is still plenty left open that will come into play in book eight of the series, when we get another look at Hope’s story. In fact, I have high hopes for Hope’s book following this one.

Another wonderful read in the Otherworld series, one I’d recommend for fans of the series who enjoy the extras Kelley Armstrong provides.

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Review: Daddy's Christmas Date

Daddy's Christmas Date by Piper Sullivan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Piper Sullivan is one of those authors I’m constantly seeing but never seem to pick up. I’m unsure as to why that is, when a few books have interested me, yet such was the reality of the situation until I decided to give Daddy’s Christmas Date a read. Whilst it wasn’t quite all I had been hoping for, I will be reading more Piper Sullivan in the future.

Daddy’s Christmas Date, as a whole, was an enjoyable read. It is one of those stories you can complete in no time at all, the story unfolding very quickly. Whilst I did enjoy it, there were a couple of things that I wasn’t overjoyed about, meaning it didn’t quite deliver the story I had been hoping for. In truth, this book was more of a three-point-five star read and I opted to round down.

The first half of the story I really enjoyed. Things happen quickly, and we’re pulled into the story of both the characters. Both are interesting, both make for fun reading. The interaction between the two was wonderful, and I really enjoyed the way they worked off each other. Having enjoyed the first half of the book, I went on to be quite disappointed by the second half.

The second half of the book felt too quick for me. Tension appears and then is resolved far too quickly. It felt rushed, if I’m honest. I was expecting things to play out on some deep level, but things felt rather cliched. I don’t mind a cliché or two, if done well, but I wasn’t as invested in the second half of the story as I had hoped I would be. I watched things unfold, but it failed to have any kind of real effect on me.

In fact, my favourite thing about the second half of the book was Blake. I enjoyed him throughout the book, and in the second part I came to adore his character even more. I really do hope we get to see his story in the future – it’s certainly something I will pick up.

Overall, it was a fun quick read. It wasn’t quite all I had hoped for, but I’ll certainly be reading more Piper Sullivan in the future.

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